Poultry-raising plant.



V. WRENN.

POULTRY RAISING PLANT.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 20, 1914.

Patented Feb. 9, 1915.

38HEETSSHBET 1.

Err. l-

V. WRBNN. POULTRY RAISING PLANT. APPLICATION nun umzo, 1914.

1,127,712. Patented Feb. 9, 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

V. WRENN.

POULTRY RAISING PLANT.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 20, 1914.

1, 1 27,7 1 2. Patented Feb. 9, 1915 n 3 SHEETS-SHEET 3. Email VIRGINIUS WBENN, OF AMELIA COURT HOUSE, VIRGINIA.

OULTBY-BAISING PLANT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 9, 1915.

Application filed January 20, 1914. Serial n. $13,215:.

To all when it may concern:

Be it known that I, Vmcmms Wnmm, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of Amelia Court House, county of Amelia, State of Vir inia, have invented certain new and usefu Improvements in Poultry-Raising Plants, of which the following is a full and clear specification, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, in which- V Figure l is a erspective viewof the several units assem led into a complete plant, certain parts being broken awe forthe sake of a clearer disclosure; Fig.. is ahorizontal section through the whole plant;

3 is a section taken on the line 3-3 of F g. 2; Fig. 4 is a vertical section through one of the hovels; Fig. 5 is a detail view showing aJnat intended for use in the brooding hovels, and Fig. 6 is a transverse vertical section through the lower part of one of the hovels showing the mat in osition.

This invention involves Improvements in chicken and other p oultrv raising plants, and pertains particularly to a cleanly and sanitary system of housing, breeding and laying apparatus. a

The invention furthermore includes an arrangement of parts whereby a close observation of the fowls may be maintained for the purpose of noting the laying propensitics ofthe hens, so that records of individualhens may be kept; and to permit the proper isolation of bropds.

Poultry houses as heretofore built have been either of the class of permanent structures or have been of the knock-down t pe, which consists of heavy frames joine to form houses and plants which in their builtup state are as heavy and cumbersome es those of the permanent structure type.

. Uther hen-houses are known as portable, so

that new locations may be provided from time to time; but in this class, again, the' question of cumbersome and heavy structures enters, and it IS necessary to provide certain traction devices to effect the movement of the houses to new locations. Moreover, gther known houses furnish numerous hiding places for the conceahnent of insect pests, much to the detriment of the health and comfort of the fowls.

In order to avoid the defects and unsatisfactory features of the prior art, my in- .vention has for its primary object the provision of/a sanitary portable hen-house and plant which can be readily moved from place to place as separate units.

The materials of which the unit system of house, nests, hovels and pens are made, consist of an open-work or skeleton steel-wire body or framing, covered where or when it is necessary with tin, water-proof paper, cloth or any other suitable material, according to governing conditions. or climatic require- -ments. The outside covering of the various units, which, as stated, may be of tin, paper or other suitable material, is to be either permanently or temporarily attached to the several frames or bodies; and in any degree as may be desirable or required for purposes of ventilation, supplying light and sunshine, or protection from cold, and for counteracting the variations of'winter. and summer Furthermore, the points of con tact between the wire frame and this covering are too small to shelter insect posts.

A. further object consists in its unitary construction and assemblage of the main house, the nests, hovels and the pens, and their interrelation, whereby a system of observation of laying hens and brands may be carried out for the purpose of keeping records of eggs laid by each hen and giving the broods proper care. In this connection,

junct to the proper working of the system.

A further feature and purpose consists in the provision of a special bottom for each cage structure or unit, including the main house, nests and hovels, Thus, each of these cage structures or units is provided with a bottom of uncovered open-work metal material, of the same character as is used for the frame or body, and sulliciently open for the droppings from the fowls to fall directly upon the ground, instead of fouling the cages or units by accumulating upon the floors. It will be observed that this feature. in connection with the stability and lightness of the whole apparatus becomes of great utility and value,-since the structures can be easily and thoroughly cleaned of all filth simply by lifting them to am thcr spot. leaving the manure spread upon the ground, which may be a poor spot in a well kept lawn. The grass-rcrts cannot be dis turbed while the structure is located over the poor spot. w since the wire bottom prc' vents scratching by the chickens or other fowls.

fill

Am ther object of the invention resides in the locatirn of the laying and setting nests and bowls. the latter being used for raising bror ds. Both the nests and bowels are l0- outed outside of the main house, so that they will not lie fouled by the: droppings from the rcosts, and are removably attached to the main house by means of hooks or other fasteners, so that they can be interchanged or removed tor various purposes. Each nest (r hovel is complete in itself, and its remmal from the main house dies not dis turb the general system, but merely varies the number and use of units which are-in operation.

In connection with the exteriorly located nests and hovels, there are provided a set of restraining pens, also of Wire-fabric ma terial and consisting of sides and a hinged top, said pens being, removably attached to the sides of the house and inclosing the nests and hovols of a side or end. The pens are also provided with the trap-door arrangement hcreinl olore mentioned which are used to follow out the system of this invention.

T he structure of the cage units which constitute the nests and hovels forms another feature oil the invention. They are prouded v.ith hinged tops which can be fastened in open or shut position, and provide means i access to the nests for securing ffe'e, placing nos-ting material, setting fowls or c: ring for the young When the rapdoors are closed, the nests are entieingly dark for laying; and setting; hens. In addition, the nests and hovels are eneh provided with ingress and egress openings of a proper size to admit the kind of fowl for whica it is intended. One opening leads into the main house, and the other to the ottido or into the pens, according to the arrangement maintained.

An important feature of the invention. 11: found in connection with the above mentioned opcnil'is s and the other necessary points of ingress and egress in the main home and the pens. Ear-h of the openings, w hivh are of such size as only to admit of the free passage or the i'owls for which the opening is intlaivleil. so laced that the arm of a maraudcr cannot easily reach the lrnnits. and is provided with double hanging rheures or doors. slightlv larger than the doonways. and made of open wirel'ahric or other material of such a degree of lightness that the Fool will easi y and quickly learn to pull lhrovg h them. uo door is hung on em h sle ol' the ()lltlllll. so that the passage ol' th fowl therelhrou I can be whollvpreventral. or ils pa Hljt: can be limited to one dirrrtion, according to whether one or the other or both doors are dropped over the opening. The object of this arrangement of doors isto make each one a trap door,

\vhen'desired. By this means also, the owner can be sure his fowls are shut up at nightand until he chooses to let them out in the morning; and, furthermore, he can credit each fowl with the eggs she has laid; and can .prevent other fowls from interfering with those that are setting, or those which have youn Referring to the drawings, A indicates the main house, which ac s as a nucleus cane unit around which the other cage units, such as pens, hovels and nests are grouped, and to which they are attached, but whose interior arrangement or opacity is never disturbed or encroached upon by the latter. Said main house consists of the four sides 1, and. as best seen in r igs. :1 and 3, the bottom 2 and the top 3, suitably joined as later indicated. liach of the elements 1, 2 and 3 ronsiz-ls of a section of a skeleton or openwork wire-fabric of suitable construction and mesh. The wire skeleton framing preferably used having welded joints and possessing a high degree of rigidity, it is possible to shape the several elements without other framing than the outside strands of the section, but if desired, suitable frames as 4 can be pro\ ided to inclosc the latter. The side sections 1 are united by any suitable fastening devices of a permanent or temporary character, simple wire ties 5 being shown in the drawings. By this simple method of joining the sections, a suilicient degree of permanence is secured to withstand all such usage as the sections themselves are called uprn to stand while at the rillilt time, the l'astenings can be readily delro ved wiihout appreciable loss, when it is dos-lied lo hnoel; down the house. The bottom 3 and the top section Ll are secured to the iour ,--ides 1 in a similar manner, though, if davired. the top may he l'astened (11 one side, in hinged relation to the sides, and secured by halting means on the opposite side.

The top sertion 3 is urovided with waterproof covering (L which may be of any suitable material, as tin. water-proof paper or fabric or a roniposition. fa tened with stap c or lies to the frame, and the sides 1 are similarly row-red. The sides, as shown ll 1. may be left unrorcred for a short spa-3c at the top, a: to provide light and air. this prrhablv being a suitable degree of expo"? ire i'or ordinarv summer weather and for fuller protcrtion aq'ainst the elements, lhe sides 1 ran he cmtlczl to their top edges, and the covering of the top joined to the side roiering. and. of rourse. the covering ma be varied in thickness and extent for allllPl'lllt kind ol weather.

The main house A is provided with doorwavs whirh open therefrom on each of its sides and ends. sai dr oravays being made of a size to permit the passage of fouls and being: formed in such number on each side as to suit the requirements of the particular plant in use. In the structure shown in the drawings, three closely spaced door-ways or openings are disclosed on eaclrof the long sides of the house 1 and a singledoor-way is provided on each end.

Inside of each door-way is a horizontally hinged valve or door 9 suspended by its up- .per edge to cover the opening andv being of somewhat greater area than the opening so"- as to bear against the side of the house all around the opening. Said valves or doors 9 are preferably made 01 the same material as thehouse, and are of such slight weight, that they can be. readily lifted by a chicken or other poultry pushing thereagainst from the opposite side of the opening. Any other material suitable for a light, serviceable door ma v obviously be employed however. Said doors 9 co-act with correspondingly hung doors on the insides of the hovels and nests, as later appears, t form therewith the double trap-doors which form a nrincipal ieature of the invention. Suitably extendedacross the house A, and out of the easy reach of the hands of any marauder who may stick his arms through the openings or door-ways 8 are the roosts 11, said roosts being formed of wooden rods or of pairs of parallel spaced wires.

At one end of the house A is or may be attached the brooder or hovel B. Said hovel B is, in all essential particulars, .a smaller counter art of the house A. The sides, bottom an top are formed of the same sort of wire-fabric and covering material from which the house is built, and the opposite ends are provided with door-Ways 12 and 13 (Figs. 3 and 4). Said door-ways are made of the same size and distance from the ground or bottom of the hovel as; are the door-waysin' the main house, so that when the end of the hovel B is locked in place at the end of the house A, as by the latches 14, the openings 1 and 12 will be brought into -coincidence to form a single doorway' between the' two units. Inside the door-way 12 of hovell B is suspended a door 15, similar to the doors 9, so that between the hovel B and the house A there exists a double-door or double-trapdoor which may be adjusted to permit fowis to pass one way or the other or both ways, as conditions require. If it is desired that access may be had to the hovel from the house, but not a return access to the latter, the door? is fastened up by suitable hooker latchyand door l5-is left suspended over the opening. A chicken in house A-may push aside the door 15 and gain access to the hovel B, but once therein cannot return through thesume door. The reverse'will obviously be the case, provided the door 9 is'lef-t suspended and the door 15 is secured away from the opening. In order to cut off all communication between house and hovel, both doois"; are left down to cover the opening. The doorway 13 at the opposite end of the hovel B is provided with two doors 16 and 17, one on the inside and the other outside, so that the same operation above described for doors 9 and 15 can be here followed out, in order to govern the use of the hovel. The hovel B is also suitably covered with tin, waterproof paper or a I fabric, the top 18, is hinged to the hovel at its rear edge and can be fastened down by means of latch 19. Access is thus given to the interior of the hovel for the purpose of caring for broods. Small roosts 20 are mounted across the hovel at suitable heights, 30 so that young fowls will easily learn to use them. in preparation for their introduction into the main house. In Fig. 5 is shown a mat20 which may be movably suspended in the hovel or brooder B when incubator 35 chickens are placed therein, the mat consisting of a suitable body or frame of wirefabric to which are tied or otherwise secured depending tufts of soft material under which the young fowjs can go for warmth so and protection. It can be raised or lowered as required by the size of the young fowls.

The nests hereinbefore mentioned are in dicated at C, and while they may be con strueted as single cage units, it has beenfound preferable to construct them in'banks. Thus the structure C constitutes a bank or set of three nests, which is disposed and fastened by hooks 14, opposite a set of three openings in the house A. The nest structure C is built up, as are the elements A and B,

of wirefabric and is suitably partitioned oil (Fig. 2) with the same material. The Walls and top are also covered with tin, paper or other fabric to provide a protection to the 106 nesting or laying hen and to make the interior suitably dark. The nesting material is placed in the nests through the top21, which is hinged to the structure for this purpose. The nests are also provided with door- 110 ways in their opposite ends, and those openings 22 which come into registration with the door openings8 in house A are interiorly provided with the doors 23 which form with the opposing doors 8 the trap-door arrange- Inent between the house and individual nests. The outer ends of the nests, however, are provided-only with exterior doors, so that it is possible for a' hen to come out at the outer end, but is prevented from returning therethrough for the purpose which will later appear.

Across each side and one end of the house 1 may be arranged the pens 24. Each pen 24 incloses, with the desired. area of ground space, a hovel orhovels or a group of nests. and act as restraining inclosures for the fowls. A pen may be placed at the other end 7 of the house alsoif desired. The pens a re formed of three side elements and a hinged & I

top 24 similar to the nest and hovel structures, and are fastened to the house at suitable points by hooks, latches or, ties. Each pen is provided with a door-way closed by a double trap-door of the character already described, so that the passage of chickens to and from the pens to the outside grounds may be suitably governed.

As has been hereinbefore stated, the apparatus which has been described involves a. unitary system of poultry raising, other than the mere housing thereof, and which may be briefly stated as follows" Ti chickens and other fowls are house ansheltered in the mainhouse A, access to which is gained through the door 8 on the free end thereof. On each side of the house are arranged the nests C, either for laying or setting. Each nest is provided with trapdoors for governing the ingress and egress of chickens, and in the case of laying hens the inner door 9 is fastened in open position and the door 23 left suspended. A laying hen seeking its nest, pushes under the door 23 to enter, and after laying, finds it only possible to pass out through the outer door 25 into the pen 24. The doorrin the pen have been previously set to prevent the cscape of any fowl entering the pen from the nests, so that the hens which have passed through the nests may be suitably noted before being released. In the case of setting hens, the double trap-door arrangement provides a suitable means for preventing the i as and she is hen from being disturbed by other chickens iven free access to the pen for feeding and exercising byfastening open the outer door.

The hovels provide for the confinement of the mother while the young are 'p'ermitted to ass through the meshesvof' the fabric wal s of the hovel and into the'pen, 'or, the doors may be arranged so that-the mother may also go into the pen. 4 Furthermore, in cases where the young areincuhator chickens, the hovel can be fitted with the mat which has been described, and while being cared for'as an independent brood, naturally and quickly adjust themselves to the habits of the other chickens in the house by having the same conditions provided.

The advantages accruing from my im roved poultry plant have been set forth iereinbefore, but it should be noted that the assembled cage structures or units of the plant constitute s larger unitary'structure which may be readily moved by a man or a couple of young boys of average strength from one place to another; and, furthermore,

that either 'the-house or the hovel and nestelements used separately or together afiord practical shipping and exhibition crates for fowls'; in the latter case, suitable feed and water receptacles bein attached. It is evident that a thief could not gain access to the house by any opening 1; door provided,

and should he try o8 iseeseiiible the arrangement it would be sdre to disturbthe fowls sulliciently to attract attention. Retsnnd insect vermin are given no hiding place within any of these units and are, therefore, not troublesome, while the general openness of the structure with full control over ventilation decreases the liability to disease of the chickens or other fowls. I

It is evident that the size and particular arrangement of the plant as regards house, nests and hovels is a matter decided by con ditions and the size of the flock of fowls to be cared for, and that the showing of the drawings discloses only one combination of many which may be made within the scope of my invention. Also, thehovels or brooders can be used detached from thehouse in direct connection with incubator systems, and the nests may be used with other housing devices, as they are freely movable and adaptable.

' What I claim as my invention is:

1. In a poultry raisin plant, the-combination of a. main house having an entrance at or near one end and having walls and bottom, the walls being provided with a- Walls of said main house so as to inclose the" cage units, and a plurality of independent trap doors arranged to either permit or prevent the fowls passing from the main house to the nests or vice versa, and to permit thefowls to pass from each est to the pen inclosing the same but pr vent the fowls returning to the nest from the pen.

2. In a. poultry raising plant, the combination of a main house havingnn open-work bottom and provided with an entrance at one end, exit openings at the side and at the rear of the main house, a cage structure over each one of said exit openings, each of said cage structures having open-workbottoms V and being removably attached to the main house and being also provided with 'a plus rality of independent trap doors arranged to either permit or prevent the fowls pass ing from the main house to the nests orvice versa, and to permit the fowls to pass from each nest to the pen inclosing the same but prevent the fowls returning to the nest from the. pen and from each of'the cageunits back into the main house, a restraining pen attached to eeph sidewall of the. main house and inclosing the cage units attached'to that sidewall, and another restraining pen in closing the cage unit at the rear end of the main house and removably attached to the rear wall of the main house. 3. In a poultry plant, the combination of a main house, restraining pens located around the house, cage structures in said pens and communicating with said house, and pairs of trap doors hung between said house and cage structures, to be alternati vely released to operative position to permit access either way between the house and cage structures, and trap doors on said cage structures giving access only to said pens.

4. In a poultry raising plant, the combination of a main house having a series of openings, each of which is closed b a trap door, cage units removably attache to said house, each being provided with a trap door closing one of said openings and each also having an exit opening, said trap doors on the house and on each cage unit being capable of adjustment to operative position to permit access each way through the cage unit.

5. In a chicken-raising plant, the combination of a main house, a series of nest units communicating with said house by means of door-ways therebetween, a trap-door suspended on each side'of each communicating door-way between nest units and said main house, either trap-door being capable of being fastened. away from its respective door-way to permit access one way therethrough, and trap-doors on free sides of said house and nest units to permit access to the former and from the latter.

6. In a chicken raisin plant, a structure comprising sides, top and bottom, said sides having doorways formed therein and doors hung on opposite sides of each doorway,

which may be alternatively placed in inoperative position to provide for the use of each doorway as an exit or inlet passageway exclusively.

In testimony whereof I hereunto afiix my signature in the resence of two witnesses.

IRGINIUS WRENN. Witnesses:

J. C. EGGLESTON,

R. D. HANLY. 

